Bio
Laurie serves the Office of Research Education as the Early Career Programs Specialist. She helps design, implement, and evaluate professional development programs to benefit ORNL fellowship program participants, postdocs, and other early career staff including the Distinguished Staff Fellowship program and the Early Career Development Program. Laurie also supports the Oak Ridge Postdoctoral Association Executive Committee with planning and implementation of their activities and designs, manages, and summarizes results of ongoing postdoc program evaluation. She facilitates the laboratory’s Nature Masterclasses training resource and manages the annual Your Science in a Nutshell competition, maintains websites related to ORNL resources for early career staff advancement, and represents ORE and ORNL with the National Lab Forum. Laurie developed and maintains ORNL's resources related to PIER Plans, DEI Plans, and Community Benefits Plans.
While in the Communications Division (2016–2022), Laurie provided technical writing/editing and laboratory communications support to numerous customers including the Neutron Sciences Directorate National Security Sciences Directorate, Radioisotope Science and Technology Division, Exascale Computing Project, Technology Transfer Office, Diversity and International Office, and Office of Research Excellence. She edited the ORNL Review, including managing the technical editing and public release review processes for the technical section since its inception. She has co-authored a book chapter with scientists in the Geospatial Science and Human Security Division and has written news articles on quantum information science research and researcher profiles.
Before joining ORNL, Laurie worked for 9 years in industry, including 5.5 years in Washington, DC, for consulting firms serving the federal government including woman-owned and minority-owned businesses. In Knoxville/Oak Ridge, in addition to ORNL, Laurie has worked for a university research organization, academic presses, and an engineering consulting firm serving the state of Tennessee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism/public relations from the University of Maryland at College Park and a master’s degree in communications from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville. She held a Q clearance, 2019–2021.